Penance in the Catholic Church

Short description: One of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church

Template:Penance and Reconciliation

The sacrament of penance[lower-alpha 1] (also commonly called the reconciliation or confession) is one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church (known in Eastern Christianity as sacred mysteries). Through this sacrament, the faithful are absolved of sins committed after baptism and reconciled with the Christian community. During reconciliation, mortal sins must be confessed and venial sins may be confessed for devotional reasons. According to the dogma and unchanging practice of the church, only those ordained as priests may grant absolution.[3]

## Contents

* 1 Nature
* 2 History
* 2.1 Early practice
* 2.2 Celtic influence
* 2.3 Late Middle Ages
* 2.4 Since the Council of Trent
* 2.5 Sacrament of reconciliation in pandemics
* 3 Contemporary confessional practice
* 3.1 Rite
* 3.2 Necessity and frequency
* 3.3 Sacramental seal
* 4 Manuals of confession
* 5 Eastern Christianity and perspectives on renewal
* 6 See also
* 7 Notes
* 8 References
* 9 Bibliography
* 10 Further reading

## Nature

The church teaches, based on the Parable of the Prodigal Son, that confession is not a tribunal or criminal court, where one is condemned by God like a criminal, but a "wedding banquet hall, where the community celebrates Easter, Christ's victory over sin and death, in the joyful experience of his forgiving mercy." In confession, the church believes, God judges a person in the sense of bringing to light their sins, by granting the person the ability to confess their sins to the confessor, then grants the person repentance and, through the confessor, grants the person forgiveness. God's forgiveness restores the person to "the brightness of the white robe of baptism, a garment specifically required to participate in the [wedding] feast."[4]

## History

In the New Testament, Christians are admonished to "confess your sins to one another and pray for one another" at their gatherings,[5] and to be forgiving people.[6][7] In the Gospel of John, Jesus says to the Apostles, after being raised from the dead, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained".[8] The early Church Fathers understood that the power of forgiving and retaining sins was communicated to the Apostles and to their lawful successors, the bishops and priests, for the reconciling of the faithful who have fallen after baptism.[9]

### Early practice

In the middle of the 2nd century, the idea of one reconciliation/penance after baptism for the serious sins of apostasy, murder, and adultery is suggested in the book of visions, The Shepherd of Hermas.[10] The episkopos (bishop) was the main liturgical leader in a local community.[11] He declared that God had forgiven the sins when it was clear that there was repentance, evidenced by the performance of some penance,[11] and the penitent was readmitted to the community.[12]

In the 1st and 2nd centuries of Christianity, penance was likely a public act. However, by the time of Cyprian of Carthage, confession itself was no longer public,[13] specifically in cases of private sins such as having entertained thoughts of denying the faith under persecution.[14] Basil of Caesarea similarly made concessions whereby adultery could be forgiven in private confession. With the additional influence of the monastic practice of "disclosure of thoughts" (logismoi), private confession to a priest became dominant by the 5th century.[15]

Lifelong penance was required at times, but from the early fifth century for most serious sins, public penance came to be seen as a sign of repentance. At Maundy Thursday excluded serious sinners, especially now-repentant excommunicated individuals, were readmitted to the community and communion along with catechumens. This practice was still current in the late medieval period, for example the Use of Sarum, but lapsed with the Reformation and Counter-Reformation.[16] Confusion entered in from deathbed reconciliation with the church, which required no penance as a sign of repentance, and the ritual would begin to grow apart from the reality.[17]

Beginning in the 4th century, with the Roman Empire becoming Christian, bishops became judges, and sin was seen as breaking of the law rather than as fracturing one's relationship with God. A new, more legalistic understanding of penance emerged at episcopal courts, where it became payment to satisfy the demands of divine justice. According to Joseph Martos, this was facilitated by a misreading of John 20:23 and Matthew 18:18 by Augustine of Hippo and Pope Leo I, who thought it was the "disciple" and not God who did the forgiving, though only after true repentance.[18] The acts of councils from the fourth to the sixth century show that no one who belonged to the order of penitents had access to Eucharistic communion until the bishop reconciled him with the community of the church. Canon 29 of the Council of Epaone (517) in Gaul says that from among penitents only apostates had to leave Sunday assembly together with catechumens before the Eucharistic part commenced. Other penitents were present until the end but were denied communion at the altar of the Lord.[19]

A new approach to the practice of penance first became evident in the 7th century in the acts of the Council of Chalon-sur-Saône (644–655). Bishops gathered in that council were convinced that it was useful for the salvation of the faithful when the diocesan bishop prescribed penance to a sinner as many times as they would fall into sin (canon 8).

Functional 19th century confessionals in St Pancras Church, Ipswich

### Celtic influence

Because of its isolation, the Celtic Church for centuries remained fixed with its forms of worship and penitential discipline which differed from the rest of the Christian Church. It had no knowledge of the institution of a public penance in the community of the church which could not be repeated, and which involved canonical obligations.[20] Celtic penitential practices consisted of confession, acceptance of satisfaction fixed by the priest, and finally reconciliation. They date back to 6th century.

Penitential books native to the islands provided precisely determined penances for all offences, small and great (an approach reminiscent of early Celtic civil and criminal law).[21] Walter J. Woods holds that "over time the penitential books helped suppress homicide, personal violence, theft, and other offenses that damaged the community and made the offender a target for revenge."[22] The practice of so-called tariff penance[23] was brought to continental Europe from Ireland, Scotland and England by Hiberno-Scottish and Anglo-Saxon monks.[24]

The Celtic practice led to new theories about the nature of God's justice, about temporal punishment God imposes on sin, about a treasury of merits in heaven to pay the debt of this punishment, and finally about indulgences to offset that debt.[25]

### Late Middle Ages

With the spread of scholastic philosophy, the question arose as to what caused the remission of sins. From the early 12th century Peter Abelard and Peter Lombard reflected the practice that contrition and confession (even to laymen or, in rare cases, a nun or beguine[26]) assured of God's forgiveness, but remorse for one's sins was necessary. Absolution referred only to the punishment due to sin. But at this time Hugh of St. Victor taught on the basis of the "power of the keys" (John 20:23[27] and Matthew 18:18)[28] that absolution applied not to the punishment but to the sins, and this hastened the end to lay confession. From "as early as the third century devout Christians were sometimes encouraged to reveal the condition of their soul to a spiritual guide." This led to a private form of confession that bishops finally put a stop to by the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) that made confession to a priest obligatory within a year of the sinning, and has enshrined the practice of private confession ever since. In the 13th century the Dominican philosopher Thomas Aquinas tried to reunite the personal "matter" (contrition, confession, satisfaction) and ecclesial "form" (absolution). But the Franciscan Duns Scotus gave support to the prevalent opinion at the time that absolution was the only essential element of the sacrament, which readmitted the penitent to the Eucharist.[29]

In the 11th and 12th centuries a new, legalistic theory of penances had crept in, as satisfying the divine justice and paying the penalty for the "temporal punishment due to sin". This was followed by a new theory of a treasury of merits which was first put forward around 1230.[30] As a means of paying this penalty, the practice grew of granting indulgences for various good works, drawing on "the treasury of the Church's merits". These indulgences later began to be "sold" (i.e., made conditional for the wealthy on some approved alms-giving), leading to Martin Luther's dramatic protest.[31]

### Since the Council of Trent

Modern confessional: three options for penitent; priest behind screen

In the mid-16th century the bishops at the Council of Trent[32] retained the private approach to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and decreed that indulgences could not be sold. Some Protestant Reformers retained the sacrament as sign but shorn of Canonical accretions. However, for Catholics after Trent "the confession of mortal sins would be primarily regarded as a matter of divine law supported by the ecclesiastical law to confess these within a year after they had been committed".[33]

The problem that "has dominated the entire history of the sacrament of reconciliation [...] is the determination of the roles of the subjective and personal factors and the objective and ecclesiastical factor in penance".[34] From the mid-19th century, historical and biblical studies called to mind that repentance is required before God can forgive sins and the sinner can be readmitted to the Christian community through the sacrament.[35] Sacramental theology had always taught that contrition was necessary for a valid confession. The Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) decreed in its Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy that the "rite and formulas for the sacrament of penance [were] to be revised so that they more clearly express both the nature and effect of the sacrament".[36] In a post-conciliar document, The Constitution on Penance, Pope Paul VI emphasized "the intimate relationship between external act and internal conversion, prayer, and works of charity".[37]

### Sacrament of reconciliation in pandemics

On March 20, 2020, the Apostolic Penitentiary issued a note on clarifications regards the Sacrament of Reconciliation in the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular it was noted that where it is impossible for the faithful to receive sacramental absolution, forgiveness for sins (even grave ones) may be obtained by perfect contrition and the believer's firm intention to make a sacramental confession as soon as possible.[38][39]

## Contemporary confessional practice

Part of a series on the
Canon law of the
Catholic Church

Ius vigens (current law)

* 1983 Code of Canon Law
* Omnium in mentem
* Magnum principium
* Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches
* Ad tuendam fidem
* Ex corde Ecclesiae
* Indulgentiarum Doctrina
* Pastor bonus
* Pontificalis Domus
* Veritatis gaudium
* Custom
* Matrimonial nullity trial reforms of Pope Francis
* Documents of the Second Vatican Council
* Christus Dominus
* Lumen gentium
* Optatam totius
* Orientalium ecclesiarum
* Presbyterorum ordinis
* Sacrosanctum concilium
* Precepts of the Church

Legal history

Jus antiquum (c. 33-1140)

* Ancient Church Orders
* Didache
* The Apostolic Constitutions
* Canons of the Apostles
* Collections of ancient canons
* Collectiones canonum Dionysianae
* Collectio canonum quadripartita
* Collectio canonum Quesnelliana
* Collectio canonum Wigorniensis
* Decretum Gelasianum
* Symmachian forgeries
* Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals
* Donation of Constantine
* Gregorian Reform
* Lay investiture controversy
* Dictatus papae
* Libertas ecclesiae
* Plenitudo potestatis

Jus novum (c. 1140-1563)

* Corpus Juris Canonici
* Decretum Gratiani
* Decretist
* Canon Episcopi
* Margaritae
* Jus commune
* Decretals of Gregory IX
* Decretalist
* Regulæ Juris
* Extravagantes
* Liber Septimus

Jus novissimum (c. 1563-1918)

* Council of Trent
* Benedictus Deus (Pius IV)
* Tametsi
* Apostolicae Sedis moderationi

Jus codicis (1918-present)

* 1917 Code of Canon Law
* Ecclesiae Sanctae
* 1983 Code of Canon Law

Other

* Contractum trinius
* Papal judge-delegate
* Right of option

Oriental law

* Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches
* Eastern Canonical Reforms of Pius XII
* Nomocanon
* Archeparchy
* Eparchy
* Exarchate
* Ordinariate for Eastern Catholic faithful
* Protosyncellus
* Territory dependent on the Patriarch

Liturgical law

Latin Church

* General Roman Calendar
* Ranking of liturgical days in the Roman Rite
* General Instruction of the Roman Missal
* Code of Rubrics
* Magnum principium
* Liturgiam authenticam
* Mysterii Paschalis
* Sacrosanctum concilium
* Tra le sollecitudini
* Musicam sacram
* Summorum Pontificum
* Quattuor abhinc annos
* Ecclesia Dei
* Red Mass
* Holy Day of Obligation

Sacramental law

* Communicatio in sacris
* Ex opere operato
* Omnium in mentem
* Valid but illicit

Sacraments

* Holy Orders
* Impediment (canon law)
* Abstemius
* Defect of birth
* Obligation of celibacy
* Nullity of Sacred Ordination
* Apostolicae curae
* Dimissorial letters
* Episcopal Co-Consecrators
* Approbation
* Confession
* Penitential canons
* Paenitentiale Theodori
* Seal of the Confessional
* Internal forum
* Note on the importance of the internal forum and the inviolability of the Sacramental Seal
* Apostolic Penitentiary
* Canon penitentiary
* Complicit absolution
* Sacramentum Poenitentiae
* Eucharist
* Eucharistic discipline
* Canon 915
* Celebret
* Mass stipend

Sacramentals

* Indulgence
* Indulgentiarum doctrina

Sacred places

* Altars
* Major basilica
* Minor basilica
* Oratory (chapel)

Sacred times

* Feast days
* Fast days and abstinence
* Paenitemini
* Holy day of obligation

Matrimonial law

* Canonical form (Latin Church)
* Tametsi
* Ne Temere
* Banns of Marriage
* Declaration of Nullity
* Dignitas connubii
* Matrimonial Nullity Trial Reforms of Pope Francis
* Vetitum
* Defender of the Bond
* Impediments to Marriage
* Affinity
* Bigamy
* Clandestinity
* Impediment of crime
* Disparity of Cult
* Ligamen
* Public propriety
* Matrimonial Dispensation
* Ratum sed non consummatum
* Sanatio in radice
* Natural marriage
* Pauline privilege
* Petrine privilege

Supreme authority, particular
churches, & canonical structures

Supreme authority of the Church

* Roman Pontiff
* College of Bishops

Supra-diocesan/eparchal structures

* College of Cardinals

* Conference of bishops
* Synod of Bishops

Particular churches

* Churches sui juris
* Latin Church
* Eastern Catholic Churches
* Local particular churches
* Appointment of bishops
* Abbacy nullius
* Apostolic vicariate
* Apostolic vicar
* Apostolic administration
* Apostolic administrator
* Diocese/Archdiocese
* Aeque principaliter
* Cathedraticum
* In persona episcopi
* Diocesan Curia
* Moderator of the Curia
* Chancery
* Deanery
* Vicar forane
* Archeparchy
* Eparchy
* Eparchal curia
* Territory dependent on the Patriarch
* Military ordinariate
* Mission sui juris
* Personal ordinariate
* Anglicanorum Coetibus

Juridic persons

* Parish
* Team of priests in solidum
* Collegiate church
* Register
* Lay trusteeism
* Roman Curia
* Dicastery
* Congregation
* Pontifical council
* Personal Prelature
* Types of membership of Opus Dei
* Association of the Christian faithful
* Vicar general
* Quinquennial visit ad limina

Jurisprudence

* Canonical coronation
* Canonically crowned images
* Computation of time
* Custom
* Delegata potestas non potest delegari
* Derogation
* Dispensation
* Taxa Innocentiana
* Faculty
* Indult
* Impediment
* Interpretation
* Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts
* Jurisdiction
* Peritus
* Obreption & subreption
* Obrogation
* Promulgation
* Resignation of the Roman Pontiff
* Sede vacante
* Simony
* Vacatio legis
* Valid but illicit
* Visitation
* Apostolic visitor

Philosophy, theology, and fundamental theory of canon law

* Theology
* Ecclesiology
* Treatise on Law
* Determinatio

Temporal goods (property)

* Benefice
* Cathedraticum
* Contract law
* Mass stipend
* Stole fee
* Temporalities

Law of persons

* Person (canon law)
* Formal act of defection from the Catholic Church
* Canonical age
* Emancipation
* Exemption

Clerics

* Secular clergy
* Regular clergy
* Obligation of celibacy
* Clerics and public office
* Incardination and excardination
* Laicization (dispensation)
* Canonical faculties

Office

* Canonical provision
* Canonical election

Juridic and physical persons

* Jus patronatus

Associations of the faithful

Consecrated life

Canonical documents

* Acta Apostolicae Sedis
* Acta Sanctae Sedis
* Censor librorum
* Imprimatur
* Imprimi potest
* Notary (canon law)
* Protonotary apostolic
* Apostolic constitution
* Canon
* Concordat
* Decree
* Decretal
* Encyclical
* Motu proprio
* Ordinance
* Papal brief
* Papal bull
* Penitential
* Positive law
* Rescript
* Parish register
* Ecclesiastical Latin

Penal law

* Canon 1324
* Canon 1398
* Censure (canon law)
* De delictis gravioribus
* Complicit absolution
* Crimen sollicitationis
* Excommunication
* List of excommunicable offences in the Catholic Church
* List of people excommunicated by the Catholic Church
* List of excommunicated cardinals
* Interdict
* Internal forum
* Laicization (penal)
* Latae sententiae
* Lifetime of prayer and penance
* Canonical admonitions
* Ecclesiastical prison

Procedural law

Pars statica (tribunals & ministers/parties)

* Tribunals
* Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura
* Tribunal of the Roman Rota
* Apostolic Penitentiary
* Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
* Ministers of Justice
* Judicial Vicar/Officialis
* Auditor
* Parties
* Defender of the Bond
* Procurator

Pars dynamica (trial procedure)

* Dignitas connubii (matrimonial causes)
* Appeal as from an abuse
* Presumption
* Penal procedure
* Vos estis lux mundi

Canonization

* Congregation for the Causes of Saints
* Maiorem hac dilectionem
* Advocatus Diaboli
* Oblatio vitae
* Positio
* Beatification and canonization process in 1914

Election of the Roman Pontiff

* Current law
* Universi Dominici gregis
* Papal renunciation
* Reforms of Pope Benedict XVI
* Historical
* Cum proxime
* Jus exclusivae
* Papal appointment
* Aeterni Patris Filius
* Romano Pontifici eligendo
* Ingravescentem aetatem
* Ubi periculum
* Quia propter

Legal practice and scholarship

* List of legal abbreviations

Academic degrees

* Licentiate of Canon Law
* Doctor of Canon Law
* Doctor of both laws

Journals and Professional Societies

* Canon Law Society of America
* The Jurist

Faculties of canon law

* School of Canon Law

Canonists

* Medieval
* Gratian
* Hostiensis
* Jean Lemoine
* Raymond of Penyafort
* Rufinus
* Johannes Teutonicus
* Geoffrey of Trani
* Burchard of Worms
* Brocard
* Modern & Contemporary
* Eugenio Corecco
* John D. Faris
* Pietro Gasparri
* Ladislas Orsy
* Edward N. Peters

Law of consecrated life

* Solemn vow
* Exclaustration
* Manifestation of Conscience
* Canonical erection of a house of religious
* Pontifical right
* Diocesan right
* Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life

Institute of consecrated life

* Religious institute
* Congregation
* Order
* Monasticism
* Canons regular
* Mendicant orders
* Clerics regular
* Secular institute
* Cum Sanctissimus
* Primo Feliciter
* Provida Mater Ecclesia

Society of apostolic life

* Decretum laudis

* v
* t
* e

Confessional Built confessional room by bricks

Canon law requires confession along with purpose of amendment and absolution from the priest for all grave sins for reconciliation with God and with the Catholic Church, except in danger of death.[40]

Especially in the West, the penitent may choose to confess in a specially constructed confessional. Since the Second Vatican Council, besides the previous practice of kneeling behind a screen, the option of sitting facing the priest has been added in most confessionals. For those who prefer anonymity, the provision of an opaque screen separating the priest from the penitent is still required.[40]

The priest administering a sacrament, such as Reconciliation, must have permission from the local bishop, or from his religious superior.[40] However in urgent need any ordained priest may grant absolution to a penitent.[40]

### Rite

The current Rite of Penance was produced in 1973 with two options for reconciliation services, to restore the original meaning of sacraments as community signs. The 1983 Code of Canon Law brought some further changes. The penitent may kneel on the kneeler or sit in a chair (not shown), facing the priest. The current book on the Rite of Penance prescribes the following (42–47). The sign of the cross precedes a greeting of encouragement to trust in God. The priest may read a short passage from the Bible that proclaims God's mercy and calls to conversion. All mortal sins must be confessed, while confession of venial sins also is recommended but not required. The priest may emphasize repentance and offer counsel, and always proposes a penance which the penitent accepts and then recites an act of contrition. The priest imparts absolution. Since the Council of Trent, the essential words of absolution have been: "I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."[lower-alpha 2] In the renewal of the sacrament the more ample form is:

> God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins. Through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace. And I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.[41]

Simple confession box, Manaoag Church.

Finally, the priest invites the penitent to "give thanks to the Lord, for he is good", to which the penitent responds, "His mercy endures forever" (Psalms 136:1).[42] The priest dismisses the penitent "in peace".

Before the absolution, the penitent makes an act of contrition, a prayer declaring sorrow for sin. While older forms might only mention sin as offence against God, newer forms mention harm done to one's neighbor.[43]

Since the Second Vatican Council, reconciliation services have been encouraged, to emphasize the communal element in the sacrament. Such services include readings from scripture, a homily, and prayers, followed by individual confession.[44] In extenuating circumstances where general absolution is given, true repentance is still required and individual confession at some opportune time.[40] Such circumstances include where large numbers are in danger of death, or are deprived of the sacrament by grave lack of priests, but not simply from the number of penitents at major feasts or pilgrimages.[40] By official declaration, one day is a sufficiently "long time" to justify use of the Third Rite, a reconciliation service with absolution, but requiring individual confession after.[45]: 137–38 The Catholic Church teaches that individual and integral confession and absolution (as opposed to collective absolution) is the only ordinary way in which a person conscious of mortal sins committed after baptism can be reconciled with God and the church.[40]

Although spiritual direction is not necessarily connected with the sacrament, the sacrament of penance has throughout the centuries been one of its main settings, enabling the Christian to become sensitive to God's presence, deepen the personal relationship with Christ, and attend to the action of the Spirit in one's life.[46] In the 20th century, during the Second Vatican Council, new approaches were taken in the presentation of this sacrament, taking into account the concern of scrupulosity, or the exaggerated obsessive concern for detail. This further distinguished the role of penance from forms of psychotherapy.[47]

### Necessity and frequency

See also: Religion:Frequent confession

A confessional in the Bohemian style, in Jaroměř, Czech Republic.

After having reached the age of discretion, each member of the faithful is obliged to confess faithfully their grave sins at least once a year.[48] This yearly confession is necessitated for performing one's "Easter duty", the reception of Communion at least once during the Easter season.[49][40] This must be preceded by Reconciliation if one has sinned gravely. Grave sin involves serious matter, sufficient knowledge of its seriousness, and sufficient freedom from any interior or exterior factors that would mitigate one's responsibility for the harm done.[50] While private confession of all grave sins is now required, confession of venial sins is recommended but not required.[40] Popes have written on the possible benefits of "devotional confession" of venial sins for strengthening of resolutions, divine encouragement, Christian growth, and interior peace.[51]

All contrition implies sorrow of spirit and "detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again." Such contrition is "perfect" if it flows from divine charity but "imperfect" if it flows only from fear of penalties or of eternal damnation. While perfect contrition forgives serious sin, one must also have the intention to fulfill church teaching and confess the sin if or when it becomes possible.[52][lower-alpha 3]

In order for the sacrament of penance to be validly celebrated, the penitent must confess all mortal sins. If the penitent knowingly conceal any mortal sin, then the confession is invalid and the penitent incurs another sin: sacrilege. A person who has knowingly concealed a mortal sin must confess the sin he has concealed, mention the sacraments he has received since that time, and confess all the mortal sins he has committed since his last good confession.[56] If the penitent forgets to confess a mortal sin in confession, the sacrament is valid and their sins are forgiven, but he must tell the mortal sin in the next extreme unction if it again comes to his mind.[56]

### Sacramental seal

The sacramental seal binds all those who hear or overhear a penitent confess a sin for the purpose of absolution, to not reveal the identity of the penitent and the sin. Those who may overhear sins confessed, such as an interpreter, are bound by the same seal as the priest.[40] A priest who violates this seal is automatically excommunicated, with pardon reserved to the Holy See. Others who violate the seal may also be excommunicated. Careless speaking that might lead people to connect a specific penitent with a sin confessed is also punishable.[40]

While there have been martyrs who have been executed for refusing to break the seal, such as John of Nepomuk,[57] in the United States the inviolability of the seal is recognized before the law.[58]

## Manuals of confession

A modern confessional in a Catholic church

Beginning in the Middle Ages, manuals of confession emerged as a literary genre. These manuals were guidebooks on how to obtain the maximum benefits from the sacrament. There were two kinds of manuals: those addressed to the faithful, so that they could prepare a good confession, and those addressed to the priests, who had to make sure that no sins were left unmentioned and the confession was as thorough as possible. The priest had to ask questions, while being careful not to suggest sins that perhaps the faithful had not thought of and give them ideas. Manuals were written in Latin and in the vernacular.[59]

Such manuals grew more popular as the printed word spread, and in 2011 had made a transition to electronic form as well. The first such app on the iPhone to receive a bishop's approval was mistakenly reported as an app for the sacrament itself;[60] in reality the app was an electronic version of this long-standing tradition of material to be used in preparing oneself to make a good confession.[61]

## Eastern Christianity and perspectives on renewal

Ukrainian Byzantine Rite Greek-Catholic church of the Bernhardines in Lviv, Ukraine.

Unlike Western Christianity which saw its liturgical practice disrupted during the Migration Period of the Early Middle Ages, Eastern Christianity has retained more the understanding that ecclesiastical reconciliation had in Patristic times. In Eastern Christianity sacraments are called "sacred mysteries". The obligation to confess may be less rigid and this may include only one's most regrettable sins, to experience God's forgiving love. The practice of absolution or of a given penance varies greatly. The emphasis is on conversion of heart rather than on enumeration of sins.[62]

Confession and penance in the rite of the Eastern Orthodox Church, even to our own day, preserve the character of liberation and healing rather than of judgment. Ruling and healing are seen as the same charism, as in early Christian times.[63] Remission of sin is granted on the basis of sincere repentance and confession. Absolution proclaims God's forgiveness of the sin. Penance is entirely therapeutic; it reinforces the penitent's efforts at Christian growth. "Forgiveness of sin procured through sincere and heartfelt repentance is complete and perfect, needing no additional fulfillment," and so "the Orthodox Church most strenuously rejects [...] Latin teaching of penalties and punishments, eternal and temporal remission, the treasury of merits, [...] (and) purgatorial fire."[64]

A perceived ongoing need for reform and development of the sacrament in the Roman rite is argued in a book with a chapter on "From Confession to Reconciliation; Vatican II to 2015".[65] In another book on the sacraments, widely used in universities and seminaries, Joseph Martos explains how he thinks much still needs to be done to bring together what he had learned through biblical and historical studies, "sacramental theory", and the way the sacrament is experienced today, "sacramental practice".[66] There has been widespread demand for more general use of the Third Rite, a reconciliation service with general absolution but requiring individual confession afterwards.[citation needed] However, Canon Law as revised under pp=266–267}}[45] While arguing for much wider use of community reconciliation services with general absolution and not requiring individual confession, Catholic theologian [[Ladislas Orsy anticipated, in 1978, further developments in the church's legislation on the Sacrament of Reconciliation and asserted that "we cannot stop; truth and mercy must continue to unfold."[67]

## See also

* Christian views on sin
* Handbook for a Confessor
* Note on the importance of the internal forum and the inviolability of the Sacramental Seal
* Paenitentiam agere
* Reconciliatio et paenitentia
* Seven deadly sins
* Spiritual Communion

## Notes

1. ↑ "Sacrament of Penance" is the name used in the Catholic Church's 1983 Code of Canon Law.[1] The Catechism of the Catholic Church uses a broader range of nomenclature, calling it the "Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation", and giving the additional alternative names of "Conversion", "Confession", and "Forgiveness".[2]
2. ↑ Prior to 1973, the formula of absolution contained in the 1614 Ordo ministrandi sacramentum poenitentiae was (in English translation): "May our Lord Jesus Christ absolve you: and I by his authority absolve you from every bond of excommunication, suspension and interdict, insofar as I am able and you need it. And finally, I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen." Stafford pointed out that the first part "was legal and canonical in its inspiration and wording" while the 1973 formula "is more explicitly biblical, ecclesial, Christocentric, and Trinitarian."[41]
3. ↑ "Perfect contrition" is understood to remove the guilt of mortal sin even before confession or, if there is no opportunity of confessing to a priest, without confession, but with the intention of confessing when and if the opportunity arrives.[40] Perfect contrition began as a description of sorrow that proceeded from abhorrence of the sin and not just from fear of punishment.[53] Its description in Canon Law reads rather that it involves a sorrow "motivated by love of God".[54] "The necessity [of the sacrament of penance] is like that of baptism: in an emergency, desire for the sacrament," according to Karl Rahner, "can replace it." Council of Trent, Session 6, decreed that repentance includes "sacramental confession or at least the desire to confess them when a suitable occasion will be found" while "eternal punishment [and] guilt, is remitted by the reception of the sacrament or the desire of the sacrament."[55]

## References

1. ↑ "The Sacrament of Penance". https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib4-cann959-997_en.html.
2. ↑ "Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation". https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c2a4.htm.
3. ↑ "The Roman Catholic Church dogmas Doctrine of Salvation Catholic Apologetics". https://www.theworkofgod.org/dogmas.htm.
4. ↑ Evangelizatio.Va: 24 Hours for the Lord, Part 1: Confession
5. ↑ James 5:16
6. ↑ Ephesians 4:32
7. ↑ Martos 2014, p. 322.
8. ↑ John 20:22–23
9. ↑ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: The Sacrament of Penance". http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11618c.htm.
10. ↑ "Church Fathers: The Shepherd of Hermas". http://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/post.cfm?urlslug=church-fathers-shepherd-hermas.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Osborne, Kenan (November 28, 2001). Reconciliation and Justification: The Sacrament and Its Theology. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 9781579108199. https://books.google.com/books?id=brZKAwAAQBAJ&q=history+of+the+sacrament+of+penance+in+the+catholic+church&pg=PA52.
12. ↑ Martos 2014, pp. 323, 325, 327.
13. ↑ Poschmann 1964, pp. 60–61.
14. ↑ Ferguson, Everett (2009). Church History - From Christ to Pre-Reformation: The Rise and Growth of the Church in Its Cultural, Intellectual, and Political Context (2nd ed.). Grand Rapids: HarperCollins Christian Publishing. ISBN 978-0-310-51657-6.
15. ↑ Nicholson, Oliver (2018). The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-256246-3.
16. ↑ Harper, John (2010). The Reconciliation of Penitents. http://www.experienceofworship.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/dp21_t01_61_01.pdf.
17. ↑ Poschmann 1964, pp. 95–96, 136–45.
18. ↑ Martos 2014, pp. 328–30.
19. ↑ Cyrille Vogel, Le pécheur et la pénitence dans l'Église ancienne (Paris: Cerf 1982) 36
20. ↑ "Catechism of the Catholic Church". http://ccc.usccb.org/flipbooks/catechism/index.html#363/z.
21. ↑ Davies, Oliver; O'Loughlin, Thomas (December 17, 1999). Celtic Spirituality. Paulist Press. ISBN 9780809138944. https://books.google.com/books?id=v0FLDeVRQCUC&q=penitentials&pg=PA39.
22. ↑ Woods, Walter J. (February 1, 2010). Walking with Faith: New Perspectives on the Sources and Shaping of Catholic Moral Life. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 9781608992850. https://books.google.com/books?id=zXlMAwAAQBAJ&q=celtic+monasticism&pg=PA206.
23. ↑ Poschmann 1964, pp. 124–125.
24. ↑ Cf. Vogel, Cyrille (1982). Le pécheur et la pénitence au moyen-age. pp. 15–24.
25. ↑ Poschmann 1964, pp. 123–37.
26. ↑ Swan, Laura (2016). The Wisdom of the Beguines. The Forgotten Story of a Medieval Women's Movement. pp. 118. ISBN 978-1-62919-008-2.
27. ↑ John 20:23
28. ↑ Matthew 18:18
29. ↑ Martos 2014, pp. 334–343.
30. ↑ "Library : The Historical Origin of Indulgences". http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=1054.
31. ↑ Martos 2014, pp. 338–339, 350.
32. ↑ "Introduction". http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/general-instruction-of-the-roman-missal/girm-introduction.cfm.
33. ↑ Martos 2014, p. 357.
34. ↑ Poschmann 1964, p. 209.
35. ↑ Martos 2014, p. 360.
36. ↑ "Sacrosanctum concilium". https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html.
37. ↑ "Joseph Martos on The History of Penance and Reconciliation.". http://johnwijngaardsmoodle.org/pluginfile.php/2040/mod_page/content/12/Audio_Lectures/Sacraments_in_History_09.mp3.
38. ↑ Piacenza & Nykiel (2020). harv error: no target: CITEREFPiacenzaNykiel2020 (help)
39. ↑ Vatican News: Act of Contrition and Sacrament of Reconciliation "Should we be in need of forgiveness of mortal sin, and cannot for some reason go to confession, a perfect Act of Contrition is needed along with the intention of going to confession as soon as possible."
40. ↑ 40.00 40.01 40.02 40.03 40.04 40.05 40.06 40.07 40.08 40.09 40.10 40.11 "Full text of "The Code Of Canon Law.pdf (PDFy mirror)"". January 2014. https://archive.org/stream/pdfy-jhIKUqi6ojxe0Pam/The+Code+Of+Canon+Law_djvu.txt.
41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 "Sacraments of Healing: Reconciliation and Anointing". https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/tribunals/apost_penit/documents/rc_trib_appen_doc_20060921_stafford-reconciliation_en.html.
42. ↑ Psalms 136:1
43. ↑ Rite of Penance, 89–91.
44. ↑ Catechism of the Catholic Church, p. 1482.
45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 "The Sacrament of Reconciliation". https://litpress.org/Products/2519.
46. ↑ Moon, Gary W. (2004), Spiritual Direction and the Care of Souls, InterVarsity Press, pp. 64, ISBN 978-0-8308-2777-0
47. ↑ Wise, Todd R., An empirical phenomenological analysis of the Rite of Reconciliation from the perspective of the penitent, Ann Arbor, MI: Union Institute Graduate School
48. ↑ "Code of Canon Law: text - IntraText CT". http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P3G.HTM.
49. ↑ "Dictionary : EASTER DUTY". http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/dictionary/index.cfm?id=33250.
50. ↑ Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1857.
51. ↑ Mystici corporis, Sacerdotii nostri primordia, Paenitemini.
52. ↑ Enchiridion symbolorum, 1676-78.
53. ↑ Martos 2014, p. 343.
54. ↑ "Catechism of the Catholic Church - The sacrament of penance and reconciliation". https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c2a4.htm.
55. ↑ Trent, Council of (session 6, 1547-01-13). "Decree on justification". In Denzinger (2012), nn. 1542–1543. Cited in Rahner (1969), p. 387.
56. ↑ 56.0 56.1 "Confession". https://www.catholicity.com/baltimore-catechism/lesson31.html.
57. ↑ "These priests were martyred for refusing to violate the seal of confession". https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/36651/these-priests-were-martyred-for-refusing-to-violate-the-seal-of-confession.
58. ↑ jgyan@theadvocate.com, JOE GYAN JR. "Priests can't legally be forced to reveal what's heard in confessional, Louisiana Supreme Court rules". https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/courts/article_54c7bc3c-9d5b-11e6-bd7e-e3457316f1e4.html.
59. ↑ "Medieval Sourcebook: Arroyo: Les manuels de confession en castillan". https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/projects/arroyo/manuels.htm.
60. ↑ "Catholics cannot confess via iPhone: Vatican". Reuters. February 10, 2011. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-vatican-iphone-idUSTRE7182XQ20110210.
61. ↑ "Confession: A Roman Catholic App for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App Store". January 31, 2011. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/confession-a-roman-catholic/id416019676.
62. ↑ Martos 2014, p. 367.
63. ↑ Tsirpanlis, Constantine N. (1991). Introduction to Eastern patristic thought and Orthodox theology. Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press. pp. 140–41. ISBN 978-0814658017.
64. ↑ Clendenin, Daniel B., ed (1995). Eastern Orthodox theology : a contemporary reader. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books. p. 29. ISBN 978-0801025891.
65. ↑ Carey 2018, pp. 225–27.
66. ↑ Martos 2014, p. 369.
67. ↑ Orsy, Ladislas M. (1978). The evolving church and the Sacrament of Penance. Denville, N.J.: Dimension Books. pp. 182, 51. ISBN 978-0871930729.

## Bibliography

* Bouyer, Louis (1963). The Spirit and Forms of Protestantism. A. V. Littledale (transl. from French). London-Glasgow: Collins. pp. 278.
* Bouyer, Louis (2004). The Word, Church and Sacraments in Protestantism and Catholicism. San Francisco: Ignatius Press. pp. 92. ISBN 1-58617-023-6.
* Carey, Patrick W. (2018). Confession : Catholics, repentance, and forgiveness in America. New York, NY. ISBN 978-0190889135.
* Denzinger, Heinrich; Hünermann, Peter; Fastiggi, Robert L. et al., eds (2012). "Denzinger". Enchiridion symbolorum: a compendium of creeds, definitions and declarations of the Catholic Church (43rd ed.). San Francisco: Ignatius Press. ISBN 978-0-89870-746-5.
* Martos, Joseph (2014). Doors to the Sacred. Ligouri.
* Poschmann, Bernhard (1964). Penance and the anointing of the sick. Herder history of dogma. New York: Herder and Herder. OCLC 2205919.
* Rahner, Karl (1969). "Penance". in Rahner, Karl; Darlapp, Adolf; Ernst, Cornelius et al.. Sacramentum mundi: an encyclopedia of theology. 4. New York [u.a.]: Herder and Herder. pp. 385–399. OCLC 21568.
* Vogel C. (1982). Le pécheur et la pénitence dans l'Église ancienne. Paris: Cerf. pp. 213. ISBN 2-204-01949-6.
* Vogel C. (1982). Le pécheur et la pénitence au moyen-age. Paris: Cerf. pp. 245. ISBN 2-204-01950-X.
* Code of Canon Law. Prepared under the auspices of the Canon Law Society of America (from 2001 Latin-English print ed.). Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. November 4, 2003. https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_INDEX.HTM.
* {{Cite press release|last1=Piacenza|first1=Mauro|last2=Nykiel|first2=Krzysztof Józef|date=March 20, 2020|title=Note from the Apostolic Penitentiary on the Sacrament of Reconciliation in the current pandemic, March 20, 2020

## Further reading

* Bieler, Ludwig (ed. and tr.) (1963). The Irish Penitentials. Scriptores Latini Hiberniae 5. Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.
* "The Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent", translated by Rev. H.J. Schroeder, O.P., published by Tan Books and Publishers, Rockford, IL 61105
* Curran, Thomas (2010). Confession: Five Sentences that will Heal Your Life. MCF Press. http://mycatholicfaith.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=699&Itemid=122. Retrieved 2011-03-15.
* Frantzen, Allen J. (1983). The Literature of Penance in Anglo-Saxon England. New Brunswick, New Jersey.
* Frantzen, Allen J.. "The Anglo-Saxon Penitentials: A cultural database". http://www.anglo-saxon.net/penance/index.html.
* Hamilton, Sarah (2001). The Practice of Penance, c. 900-c. 1050. Royal Historical Society Studies in History. Woodbridge.
* Payer, Pierre J. (1984). Sex and the Penitentials: The Development of a Sexual Code 55-1150. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
* Smith, Julie Ann (2001). Ordering Women's Lives: Penitentials and Nunnery Rules in the Early Medieval West. Aldershot: Ashgate.
* International Theological Commission (1982). "Penance and reconciliation". https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/cti_documents/rc_cti_1982_riconciliazione-penitenza_en.html. , prepared for the Synod of Bishops, 1983.

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